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Debt backing Neiman Marcus Group shot up today after the company posted financial results that bested analyst expectations due to better sales at its stores that it partly attributed to increased tourism and the oil patch recovery.

The issuer’s term loan due October 2020 (L+325, 1% LIBOR floor) was bracketing 90 this morning, up roughly two-to-three points since yesterday, sources said.

With the company remaining vague on its intentions to pay its interest in kind past the April 15 coupon date, the Neiman Marcus $628 million issue of 8.75%/9.50% senior PIK toggle notes due 2021 rallied more than eight points to a 14-month high of 68.75.

In an effort to preserve liquidity, the company previously elected to pay interest for the period to Oct. 14 in the form of more debt.

The company’s $960 million issue of 8% cash-pay notes due 2021 gained as much as 5 points, to 69.

The retailer today reported $1.48 billion in sales for its fiscal second quarter ended Jan. 27. The performance was up 6.2% from the year-ago equivalent period and above the $1.47 billion estimate cited in a note from Citi analyst Jenna Giannelli. Adjusted EBITDA for the quarter came in at $155 million, ahead of Citi’s $144 million projection and up roughly 22% from the same period last year.

Company executives in a conference call this morning cited improvements in the oil patch, which contributed to better operating results at its Texas stores, and increased tourism to its locations during the holiday season as some of the reasons behind the solid numbers.

On the call today, CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck said the company has now recorded two straight quarters of sales increases for the first time since fiscal 2015, and that its online business now accounts for more than 34% of total revenue.

“I think we’re extremely comfortable with our liquidity providing us with sufficient funds to fund our operations as well [as] strategic initiatives,” Stapleton said, according to a transcript from S&P Global Market Intelligence. “So I think that’s one critical point. I think the second critical point is that with the maturity ladder of our debt, we don’t see the first maturities until October of 2020. And so given where we sit today, we believe that we have sufficient kind of runway to kind of think about our debt, our capital structure in a very thoughtful, deliberative and prudent way. Throughout kind of the downturn, I think we have been very active in managing our liquidity, and we will be active and proactive in managing through kind of our capital structure.”

Current CEO van Raemdonck joined the company earlier this year after Karen Katz stepped down from her post.

LCD comps is an offering ofS&P Global Market Intelligence. LCD’s subscription site offers complete news, analysis and data covering the global leveraged loan and high yield bond markets. You can learn more about LCDhere.

Debt backing Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD) jumped following news that Albertsons has agreed to acquire the drugstore chain in a bid to create a food and wellness giant.

Rite Aid was the morning’s most actively traded name in high yield. Its 6.125% notes due 2023 were up seven points on the day, to 100.25, according to MarketAxess.

Meanwhile Albertsons 6.625% notes due 2024 were also changing hands at a steady clip, tacking on a point, to 96.

Over in loans, Albertsons B-5 term loan was bracketing 99 this morning, while its B-6 term loan was at 98.5/98.875, both off about a quarter point from Friday’s session, sources said. The issuer’s B-4 term loan was at a 98.5/99 market today, down about an eight of a point from the last session. As of Dec. 2, $5.619 billion total was outstanding on the term loans, SEC filings show.

Albertsons announced early Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire Rite Aid to create an integrated company that will be reportedly worth about $24 billion.

Following the closing of the deal, expected in the second half of 2018, Albertsons’ shareholders will own a 70.4–72% stake in the merged entity, while Rite Aid shareholders will own a 28–29.6% stake in the combined company.

The merged entities shares will trade on the New York Stock Exchange following the deal closing. (Albertsons is currently a privately held company controlled by Cerberus Capital Management.)

In a statement, Albertsons said the combined business is expected to generate year one revenue of about $83 billion and year one adjusted pro forma EBITDA of $3.7 billion, with a net leverage ratio of 3.8x at transaction close.

The combined company will operate about 4,900 locations, 4,350 pharmacy counters, and 320 clinics across 38 states and Washington, D.C.

Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs served as lead financial advisors to Albertsons. Bank of America Merrill Lynch also served as financial advisor to Albertsons Companies and is providing committed financing for the proposed transaction together with Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs. — Kelsey Butler/James Passeri

LCD comps is an offering ofS&P Global Market Intelligence. LCD’s subscription site offers complete news, analysis and data covering the global leveraged loan and high yield bond markets. You can learn more about LCDhere.

Synopsis: The modest high-yield spread-widening that accompanied the early February stock market plunge was not an anomaly demanding an explanation.

Stocks’ long period of stability came to an abrupt halt on Groundhog Day and the non-investment-grade bond market’s response quickly became a topic of interest. Barron’s “The Trader” column noted that “the high-yield bond market is refusing to act as if a crisis is at hand” (see note 1). The “Current Yield” column elaborated:

High-yield has been relatively stable, as Lee wrote Friday. “It is extremely unusual that HY would diverge so sharply,” he said (see note 2).

Let us explore that last statement a bit more closely. How unusual, in fact, is the high-yield’s comparatively muted response to the equity market selloff? In the week-over-week period from Feb. 1 to Feb. 8, preceding the one-day rebound on Friday, Feb. 9, the change in the level of the S&P 500 was –8.54%. During that same interval, the option-adjusted spread (OAS) on the ICE BofA Merrill Lynch US High Yield Index widened by 30 bps. The table below shows how the OAS behaved during all weekly stock market declines of comparable magnitude from 1990–2017:

It is true that the high-yield risk premium increased far more than the recent 30 bps in some previous major stock market selloffs. Note, however, that the three largest spread-widenings—126, 199, and 274 bps—all occurred during the Great Recession of January 2008–June 2009. In two other instances, including the worst weekly S&P 500 change in our sample of stock selloffs of a similar magnitude to the latest one (–10.54% in the week ending April 14, 2000), the ICE BAML High Yield Index’s OAS widened by less than the 30 bps widening from February 1–8. In fact, that stock plunge was accompanied by the smallest high-yield spread-widening in the sample, a barely positive two basis points.

While the sample size for these events is small, the limited evidence indicates that barring a recession, a high-yield spread-widening of only 30 bps is not anomalous. Granted, the spread widened by more than twice as much, 72 bps, in the non-recession week ended Aug. 5, 2011. Interestingly, that stock market selloff originated in the debt market. S&P Global Ratings downgraded the U.S. Treasury from AAA to AA+, adding that further downgrading was possible, and Moody’s warned that it, too, might lower its rating. This all happened in the context to fears that the debt crisis then engulfing Portugal, Ireland, and Greece would spread to Spain and Italy.

In short, one could even argue that a widening of 30 bps in the high-yield spread from Feb. 1 to Feb. 8 was an emphatic, rather than a reserved response to the stock selloff, considering that neither a recession nor a sovereign debt crisis was underway. Again, one should not overstate the importance of these conclusions, given the small number of observations. Still, it is by no means clear that there is a puzzle in need of solving in the current divergence between the equity and high-yield markets’ views of the factors that influence the values of risky assets.

LCD comps is an offering ofS&P Global Market Intelligence. LCD’s subscription site offers complete news, analysis and data covering the global leveraged loan and high yield bond markets. You can learn more about LCDhere.

The “January effect” was in overdrive last month, with bids in the U.S. leveraged loan secondary surging broadly and freshly inked deals advancing after entering the market, as investors proved eager to put cash to work.

It was a standout month, with the average break price soaring to 100.61% of par, the highest since January 2013, and well atop the 100.34 in December, according to LCD.

There were six deals that freed to trade at a 101 bid or above in January, the most during a single month in five years: Crown Holdings, Oasis Outsourcing, Flexera Software, Tacala, NFP, and SnapAV.

In another throwback to the early 2013 market: The ratio of downward to upward flexes hit its highest level in five years, illustrating the stubbornly issuer-friendly tenor of today’s market. For the record, in January 2013 there were 26 downward flexes and zero upward flexes; last month, the flex ratio was 25:1.

Another eye-popping figure: The average difference between a loan’s original-issue discount and break price was 83 bps last month, the widest it’s been since April 2016, when the market was turning a corner from a long, dismal stretch of retail withdrawals. (January’s average difference is also much higher than the 66 and 63 bps gap in December and November, respectively.) — Kelsey Butler

LCD comps is an offering ofS&P Global Market Intelligence. LCD’s subscription site offers complete news, analysis and data covering the global leveraged loan and high yield bond markets. You can learn more about LCDhere.

The cosmetics firm also addressed speculation that Revlon has been actively considering plans for an asset transfer in order to manage its debt load, with CFO Chris Peterson refuting such commentary as “false rumors and pure speculation,” highlighting in a Monday statement that “a material asset transfer is not being considered.”

Sources said some creditors were relieved that an asset transfer was not imminent, particularly as the issuer has alternative options for addressing nearing maturities, especially its 5.75% notes due 2021, pointing to debt-incurrence flexibility at non-guarantors.

Revlon 5.75% notes due 2021 and 6.25% notes due 2024 were up 1.25 points and 0.625 points, respectively, in morning trading, rising to 75.75 and 62.125, according to MarketAxess. The 2021 notes tumbled steadily into distressed over the past three months, from highs of 87.25 in early November, after Revlon booked third-quarter adjusted EBITDA that was roughly 49% below analyst estimates. Meanwhile, Revlon’s term loan due September 2023 (L+325, 0.75% LIBOR floor) was quoted at 75/78 this morning, up more than two points from before the news, sources said, and settling from bids of roughly 76 in late trading Monday. There was $1.738 billion outstanding on the term loan as of Sept. 30, SEC filings show.

Following a year of top-level management reshuffles, Revlon also said that CEO Fabian Garcia has stepped down from his role, as Revlon board member Paul Meister will become executive vice chairman of the board, overseeing day-to-day operations on an interim basis. Sources noted MacAndrews & Forbes, of which Meister is president, has a history of revamping operations at struggling companies, and that Meister may play a meaningful role in Revlon’s turnaround strategy.

Revlon said it now expects adjusted EBITDA for its fourth quarter to be within a range of $110–115 million, roughly 1.4% above analyst forecasts, based on consensus data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence, while expected net sales of $785 million for the period are roughly in line with estimates.

S&P Global Ratings on Nov. 16 downgraded Revlon’s corporate rating to B–, from B, citing concerns of elevated leverage in the wake of third-quarter results, and cut its ratings on the issuer’s unsecured notes and term loan to CCC+ and B–, respectively, from B– and B, while lowering its outlook on Revlon to negative from stable. Moody’s, meanwhile, maintains a B2 corporate rating on the issuer, with a stable outlook, and ratings on the unsecured notes and term loan of Caa1 and B1, respectively.

Revlon (NYSE: REV) is a New York-based manufacturer and marketer of beauty and personal care products worldwide. — James Passeri/Kelsey Butler

LCD comps is an offering ofS&P Global Market Intelligence. LCD’s subscription site offers complete news, analysis and data covering the global leveraged loan and high yield bond markets. You can learn more about LCDhere.

Bonds backing Wynn Las Vegas were falling sharply today—with the issuer’s 5.5% bullet notes due 2025 shedding three points, to 101.5—to extend declines since reports surfaced on Friday alleging sexual misconduct on the part of Steve Wynn, CEO of parent company Wynn Resorts. The casino magnate has described the accusations as “preposterous,” but on Saturday resigned from his post as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Wynn Las Vegas 5.25% bullet notes due 2027 today shed about two points in heavy trading, to par, after falling as low as 98.75. The decline marked the issue’s first trades below par since the pricing at par last May, with proceeds of the $900 million offering backing the company’s purchase of outstanding 5.375% first-mortgage notes due 2022. Meanwhile, more than 18% of Wynn Resorts’ market cap was erased from closing levels on Thursday, as shares of Wynn Resorts (Nasdaq: WYNN) tumbled a further 9.2% on Monday—leading the decline of the S&P 500—to $163.54 in midafternoon trading. Trades were at a 12-month high north of $200 following the company’s earnings report one week ago.

On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported that “dozens of people” had come forward to recount a pattern of sexual misconduct by the chief executive, over a period of more than 10 years. The news triggered an immediate plunge in the stock price, but bond-market reaction was initially more circumspect before today’s heavier losses, as analysts said the biggest risk to bonds would be the ouster of the company’s CEO. Wynn’s board of directors has formed a special committee to look into the allegations.

The declines mark an abrupt reversal from gains last week, after the issuer on Jan. 22 detailed better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter. Wynn Resorts booked adjusted EBITDA for the quarter of roughly $480.2 million, topping analyst forecasts by about 7.9%, as net revenue of $1.69 billion for the period also beat estimates by roughly 8.3%, based on consensus data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

On last week’s earnings call with analysts, Steve Wynn touted progress on its “first class” Wynn Boston Harbor construction project in Everett, Mass., which he said represents the “largest private investment in the history of the Commonwealth.” Notably, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission initiated a review of the project over the weekend in response to the emerging allegations.

Wynn Resorts, which is based in Las Vegas, develops, owns, and operates destination casino resorts in the U.S. and Macau. — James Passeri

LCD comps is an offering ofS&P Global Market Intelligence. LCD’s subscription site offers complete news, analysis and data covering the global leveraged loan and high yield bond markets. You can learn more about LCDhere.

Bonds backing Dell Technologies rallied today following reports that the company is considering an initial public offering, which could provide a liquidity influx just as the maturities across the company’s LBO-inflated debt stack begin to mount.

After founder Michael Dell took the company private in the 2013, the company placed $20 billion of high-grade, senior secured notes (BBB–/Baa3) on the private market in May 2016 to facilitate its $67 billion acquisition of EMC Corp. The offering remains the fifth largest corporate bond placement on record, according to LCD. The $2 billion issue of 8.35% bonds due 2046, which were priced at the time at T+575, traded today at T+305, or 25 bps tighter on the day and down from T+362 in early December, trade data show.

Similarly, the 6.02% senior secured notes due 2026, which were priced in May 2016 at T+425, traded 20 bps tighter today on either side of T+177, or 30 bps tighter week to week and down from T+229 in early December.

The issuer’s $5 billion term loan due 2023, which the company repriced last year, also firmed up on the news. Dell’s term loan due September 2023 (L+200, 0.75% LIBOR floor) was quoted at 100.5/100.75 this morning, up from 100.375/100.875 yesterday.

Dell carried roughly $52.5 billion of consolidated debt as of Nov. 3, 2017. Near-term debt maturities in 2018 include $500 million of 5.65% Dell unsecured notes (BB–/Ba2/BB+) due on April 15 and $2.5 billion of legacy EMC 1.875% unsecured notes that come due on June 1. Additionally, it started the year with a $1.4 billion remaining principal balance on its A-3 term loan due December 2018. The LBO debt from May 2016 then starts to roll off in 2019, when $3.75 billion of Dell International 3.48% senior secured notes come due on June 1, 2019, immediately followed by the maturity of the company’s $600 million issue of 5.875% unsecured notes due June 15, 2019.

Bloomberg on Thursday reported that Dell’s board would take up strategic options for the business, including an IPO, citing undisclosed sources close to the matter. However, a range of options will be on the table, including further acquisitions and/or a pursuit of the remaining stake in VMWare that Dell does not already own, according to press reports. Silicon Valley–based VMWare is controlled by Dell Technologies, which holds roughly 82% of the common stock and nearly all of the voting power, but the debt at VMWare is currently considered by ratings agencies as insulated from Dell credit risk given VMWare’s stand-alone, severable independent operating profile.

VMWare’s BBB–/Baa2 3.9% notes due Aug. 21, 2017 notes widened as much as 13 bps today, to T+142. The notes were placed last August, at T+170, as part of a $4 billion debut offering of public notes to fund higher shareholder returns and potential M&A options. — John Atkins

LCD comps is an offering ofS&P Global Market Intelligence. LCD’s subscription site offers complete news, analysis and data covering the global leveraged loan and high yield bond markets. You can learn more about LCDhere.

High yield bonds backing aircraft lessor Avolon stemmed recent declines after its ultimate parent, Chinese conglomerate HNA Group, made announcements that appeared to preclude an immediate need for Avolon to upstream liquidity amid tightening financing conditions across the group.

Avolon issues debt via its Park Aerospace Holdings unit. The issuer’s 5.25% notes due 2022 (BB/Ba3) were the most actively traded today’s developments, rising 1.75 points, to 99.75. But the bonds traded above 104 as recently as early November last year, before speculation percolated regarding the group’s flagging liquidity situation. Similarly, Park Aerospace 5.5% notes due 2024 traded 2.75 points higher today, to 99.75, though this remains down from trades at 101.5 on Dec. 12 and 105.75 at the end of the third quarter.

Bloomberg overnight reported that HNA—which has a controlling 52% stake in Avolon’s immediate parent, Bohai Capital Holdings—had pledged 34.68% of its stake in Bohai to the asset management arm of Qilu Securities as collateral for a new secured financing effort to relieve immediate pressure on liquidity. The news followed reports over the last two months that HNA entities, in the wake of aggressive global leveraged acquisition activity in recent years, had missed payments on certain lease arrangements and that local lenders were tightening lending standards for the group and levying materially higher short-term borrowing costs.

As reported, Avolon raised eyebrows last summer after it made a $365 million intracompany loan to subsidiaries of Bohai Capital. That loan was pitched to the ratings agencies as one-off in nature, but it shook market confidence in Avolon’s touted independence from HNA and Bohai, given the risk that upstream entities might call for additional draws on Avolon’s liquidity in the event of a squeeze.

Market sources today suggested that this story is far from over, particularly as HNA’s pledged equity collateral still inextricably ties Avolon to the troubled finances of Bohai and HNA. One analyst told LCD that Avolon—which faces a high maturity wall as its outstanding debt comes due from July 2020 to February 2024—could be obligated to include restricted payment provisions in its next high-yield bond offering, effectively pushing existing holders of the company’s covenant-lite bonds down the priority chain.

A number of CLO managers also own the $5 billion B term loan. S&P Global Ratings analysts published on Jan. 18 findings that Avolon Holdings is the thirteenth largest issuer held in post-crisis CLOs S&P Global has rated.

Avolon’s B-2 term loan due 2022 (L+225, 0.75% LIBOR floor) was up about a quarter of a point, at a 99.5/99.875 market today, while its B-1 term loan due September 2020 (L+175, 0% floor) was quoted at 99.5/100, up from 99.25/99.75 yesterday. In September, the issuer repriced its B-2 term loan to L+225, from L+275, while keeping the 0.75% floor intact.

Meanwhile, the B-1 term loan has remained in the high 90s since early December. The issuer repriced the $368.75 million tranche in November following a $130 million paydown.

But, subsequently, mounting liquidity strains prompted S&P Global Ratings on Dec. 5 to revise down its group credit profile on HNA to ‘b,’ from ‘b+’, alongside an attendant comparable downgrade to HNA’s Swissport unit. S&P cited HNA’s “aggressive acquisition policy, tolerance for high leverage, and contracting liquidity burdened by significant debt maturities over the next several years,” and funding costs that are “meaningfully higher than a year ago.”

Fitch also issued a cautionary note on Avolon on Dec. 6, arguing that Avolon’s ability to adhere to its structural separation from Bohai and HNA “will be an increasingly key driver of the company’s future rating trajectory.” It warned that any pressure from HNA to upstream liquidity would weight Avolon’s ratings “to a level more closely aligned with the broader HNA/Bohai organization.” While Fitch does not rate HNA or Bohai, it views both entities as “highly speculative” in relation to the BB ratings on Avolon.

HNA Group chairman Chen Feng today told Reuters, in a rare facing to the press, that “rate hikes by the Federal Reserve and deleveraging in China caused a liquidity shortage at the end of the year for many Chinese enterprises.”

He said “we’re confident we’ll move past these difficulties and maintain sustained, healthy and stable development,” according to Reuters. He reportedly noted the relatively unseasoned profile of HNA’s leadership team, and argued that it was unreasonable to expect the team immediately to “fully grasp” the complexities of integrating its many global acquisitions. — Staff reports

LCD comps is an offering ofS&P Global Market Intelligence. LCD’s subscription site offers complete news, analysis and data covering the global leveraged loan and high yield bond markets. You can learn more about LCDhere.

Debt backing Albertsons was falling today, after the Cerberus-controlled food and drug retailer again booked sharply lower quarterly earnings, with adjusted EBITDA of $429 million for the issuer’s fiscal third quarter, ending Dec. 2, down from $674.8 million for the same period last year.

Meanwhile, net sales of $13.6 billion “remained flat” over the period, according to a filing today, with $117.6 million and $95 million respective increases from fuel sales and sales from new stores and acquisitions, net of store closings, offset by a $225.3 million decline in same-store sales.

The retailer today also announced that Wayne Denningham, its president and chief operating officer, plans to retire by the end of the fiscal year, and that Albertsons has named Susan Morris as the company’s executive vice president and COO, to oversee the company’s supply chain, manufacturing, and operations functions.

Albertsons 5.75% notes due 2025 and 6.625% notes due 2024 were down three points and 2.75 points, respectively, in midday trading, falling to 87.5 and 93.25, according to MarketAxess. Meanwhile, Albertsons’ B-4 term loan (L+275, 0.75% LIBOR floor) was at a 97.5/98.5 market today, down more than a point from before the news, sources said, while the issuer’s B-5 term loan (L+300, 0.75% floor) was quoted at 97/98, a 1.5-point dip from the last session.

“We are very encouraged now that our identical store sales trends have turned positive in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017, as our marketing and merchandising plans are taking hold, and prior year comparisons ease,” CEO Bob Miller said in a Tuesday statement. He noted that the company expects improvements to adjusted EBITDA in fiscal 2018, “as a result of $100 million in expected additional synergies from the Safeway acquisition as the SuperValu transition services agreement winds down, as well as from the implementation of $150 million of identified cost reduction initiatives.”

The company now forecasts fiscal 2018 EBITDA of roughly $2.7 billion, with expected capital expenditures for the period falling to $1.2 billion, indicating a decline of $300 million from the previous period.

Albertsons debt previously declined in October, after the food and drug retailer reported adjusted EBITDA of $485.2 million for the quarter ended Sept. 9, down from $573.7 million year-over-year, while net sales and other revenues of $13.83 billion dipped mildly over the period, from $13.86 billion.

As of Dec. 2, the issuer had no borrowings outstanding under its $4 billion ABL facility, and a total availability of roughly $3 billion net of letters of credit usage.

The food and drug retailer in May repriced all three term loans. Of note, Albertsons on Sept. 25 inked a sale-leaseback deal for 71 of its store properties for an aggregate purchase price of $705 million, net of closing costs. “After giving effect to the sale-leaseback transaction, the company owns or ground leases approximately 43% of its stores with an appraised value of $11.5 billion,” the company noted in its filing.

Albertsons is a Boise, Idaho–based U.S. food and drug retailer, controlled by Cerberus Capital Management, operating 2,323 retail food and drug stores as of Dec. 2. — James Passeri/Kelsey Butler

LCD comps is an offering ofS&P Global Market Intelligence. LCD’s subscription site offers complete news, analysis and data covering the global leveraged loan and high yield bond markets. You can learn more about LCDhere.

Bonds backing Tenet Healthcare were trading down across the board earlier today after the Dallas-based hospital operator cut its 2018 earnings-per-share outlook, as part of its Friday forecast on the implications of the recently enacted federal tax law.

While the issuer noted the change in U.S. tax law “is positive for Tenet from an economic perspective”—with cash tax payments expected to drop by $10–20 million per year “over the next several years,” due to the repeal of the corporate alternative minimum tax—the company substantially cut its 2018 EPS outlook to a range of $0.63–0.68, from previous guidance of $1.07–1.36.

Tenet attributed the revised outlook to the company “not being able to currently recognize for accounting purposes the future benefit related to the excess interest expense limitation carryforward, net of the benefit derived from the lower tax rate.”

The issuer’s 6.75% notes due 2023 and 7% notes due 2025 were off by 0.625 points and half a point, respectively, changing hands in blocks at 97.375 and 96.25, according to MarketAxess. Meanwhile, shares of Tenet Healthcare (NYSE: THC) were down as much as 5% in morning trading, falling to $14.66.

Tenet bonds have been on the upswing over the last two months, as Congress mulled cuts to corporate taxes, which Tenet views as “additive to free cash flow” over the next several years, due to reduced cash tax payments. The issuer’s 2023 tranche of unsecured notes had been trading as low as 90.5 in early November.

“While EPS will be lower due to the limitation on interest expense deductibility, this does not impact free cash flow, and over the next two to three years, we expect these changes will positively affect EPS due to the lower tax rate,” CEO Ronald Rittenmeyer noted in the Friday release.

As reported, Tenet bonds had previously slumped in October, after reports surfaced that the company had discarded previous plans to put itself on the auction block, with the company noting shortly after the departure of previous CEO Trevor Fetter that the decision “will allow Tenet to focus its efforts on selecting a permanent chief executive, who can make decisions about the long-term strategic direction of the company.” The news exacerbated broader credit-market pressures besetting hospital operators amid the cross-currents of U.S. legislative wrangling over healthcare policy.

Tenet Healthcare is a Dallas-based healthcare services company that operates hospitals and urgent care centers. — James Passeri

LCD comps is an offering ofS&P Global Market Intelligence. LCD’s subscription site offers complete news, analysis and data covering the global leveraged loan and high yield bond markets. You can learn more about LCDhere.